A Study on Social Competence and Academic Achievement among Higher Secondary School Students

Abstract

The present study investigates the relationship between social competence and academic achievement among higher secondary school students. Social competence, which includes communication skills, empathy, cooperation, and self-regulation, plays a crucial role in students’ overall development and academic success. The study adopted a descriptive survey method with a sample of 300 higher secondary students selected through random sampling. Data were collected using a Social Competence Scale and academic achievement scores obtained from school records. Statistical techniques such as mean, standard deviation, t-test, and correlation were used for analysis. The findings revealed that students possess moderate levels of both social competence and academic achievement. A significant positive correlation (r = 0.62) was found between social competence and academic achievement, indicating that students with higher social competence tend to perform better academically. Significant differences were also observed based on gender and locality, with girls and urban students showing higher levels in both variables. The study concludes that social competence is an important predictor of academic success and emphasizes the need to integrate social skill development into the educational system for holistic student development.